He may be off the water, but Isaac Athans is still making waves.
The Kelowna product will join the University of Calgary Dinos’ 2019 Vanier Cup-winning team and will attend the school in the fall of 2020 but football is not the only sport he’s excelled at — and perhaps not even the one his name is best known for locally.
Isaac’s name carries a history of success on the water and the slopes.
His uncle, George Athans is in the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame and was a world champion water skier, and Canadian Male Athlete of the Year in 1971 and 1973. His father, Gary Athans competed for Canada in the 1984 Winter Olympics in ski racing and is a member of the Central Okanagan Athletic Hall of Fame.
Isaac too has an exceptional record in water skiing having won the Water Ski Nationals three times. On the ski hill, he won the B.C. Games slalom event, competed in the giant slalom, and competed at the national level for three years.
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Isaac has since taken that success to the football field, where this past season he helped the Kelowna Secondary School Owls advance to the B.C. quarterfinals.
“I love how one can combine athletics with academics in football,” Athans said of making his decision to forego water skiing and downhill skiing to concentrate on football. “I also like the team game and brotherhood family aspect of the game.”
He has seen time at a variety of positions on the field, including quarterback, receiver, defensive back and special teams.
“Issac comes from a family with great athletic history. He is very muscular and athletic. He is a very talented player and has the ability to contribute on either side of the football,” said Dinos head coach Wayne Harris.
Athans did not concentrate on football until the end of his Grade 11 school year. Once he decided to concentrate on football, Issac attended football camps at the University of Washington and Eastern Washington University.
An honour roll student throughout high school, Issac plans to enroll in the Haskayne School of Business. Before committing the Dinos he spoke with UBC, Carleton, Western and Queens.
“The coaches have a good relationship with their players,” said Athans of his decision to go to Calgary.
Though Isaac will be attending the University of Calgary in the fall, his career with the Dinos won’t start until 2021 as football is one of the one-term sports cancelled by CIS for 2020.
Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email: michael.rodriguez@kelownacapnews.com
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